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October 2, 2003 Congressional Briefing on the Relationship Between Land Use, Transportation and Health
September 25, 2003

A Compelling Case for Addressing Public Health in Transportation and Land Use Policy
Thursday, October 2, 2003
1:00 - 2:30 pm, 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute invites you to a Congressional briefing to address the relationship between land use, transportation, and health. Current research indicates that improvements in land use and community design could help moderate many of the chronic diseases of the 21st century – heart disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma and depression – by providing transportation options that increase physical activity and reduce air pollution.

Allen Dearry, Ph.D., Associate Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Reid Ewing, Ph.D., National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland; principal author of the study, Relationship Between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity, Obesity and Morbidity
Paul Farmer, AICP Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, American Planning Association (APA)
Patrick Lenihan, Ph.D., President, National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO); and Deputy Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health

This briefing coincides with the recent release of a new study and special issues of two prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals. The American Journal of Public Health and the American Journal of Health Promotion both published special issues in September focusing on the effects of the built environment on public health. Included among dozens of articles addressing sprawl and public health is the study, Relationship between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity, Obesity and Morbidity, the first national research to find a direct link between sprawl and obesity. Since the August 28th release of this study, national and international media have reported its findings, including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the BBC. (You can access some of the articles online at http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org by clicking the Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl link.) This briefing will provide the opportunity to hear first-hand from public health experts about these pressing problems and how they can be addressed through public policy.

Policymakers face an important decision as they think about the direction of transportation, housing, and land use initiatives (including transportation enhancements, safe routes to school and public transportation programs to be considered during the TEA-21 reauthorization process). This briefing also recognizes the public health campaigns of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to encourage greater physical activity as a key way to combat the growing obesity problem and its serious health ramifications.
This briefing is open to the public and no reservations are required. For more information please contact Ray Minjares at 202-662-1883 or email rminjares@eesi.org

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